University of Kentucky vs. Louisiana State University
- Lancaster Aquatic Center (Lexington, KY)
- Short Course Yards
- Results
- Scores: Men UK 189 – LSU 109 | Women UK 156 – LSU 144
The Kentucky women kicked off the meet with a huge victory in the 400 medley relay. Asia Seidt posted a 53.83 100 backstroke split, dusting the field by nearly two seconds and contributing the most to the Wildcat’s 2.71-second margin of victory in the event. Seidt’s time in the 100 back is good for an NCAA ‘B’ cut in the event and 11th-fastest in the nation so far this season. Seidt went on to win the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:49.57, making her the only woman to go sub-1:50 in that event, and a 54.08 in the 100 butterfly, which she also dominated by nearly a full second. Seidt also picked up a third-place finish in the 50 free where she turned in a time of 23.67.
Without Seidt to swim the open 100 backstroke the race was won by teammate Ali Galyer in a 55.56, barely edging LSU’s Kate Zimmer, who touched second in 55.75. Galyer’s swim was interesting in that she nearly even-split the race, taking out the first 50 in 27.64 and finishing in 27.92, versus Zimmer who was out in 27.12 but back in 28.63. Kentucky freshman Sophie Sorenson won the women’s 200 backstroke in 1:58.49, making her the only woman to go under 2-minutes in the event, and also putting her within two seconds of her personal best time of 1:56.83, which she posted in February of 2018.
Leyre Casarin swept the sprints for LSU, claiming the 50 in 23.44 and the 100 in 50.80, barely edging Kentucky’s Geena Freriks by a mere .06 in the 100. Casarin also contributed a 22.99 relay split to LSU’s champion 200 freestyle relay, and a 50.46 freestyle split to the Tigers’ runner-up 400 medley relay.
On the men’s side, LSU’s Karl Luht dominated the 100 backstroke–twice–posting a 48.06 on LSU’s champion 400 medley relay, followed by a 47.72 in the open 100 back, which just barely skates under the NCAA ‘B’ standard of 47.77. In the 100, Luht blew away the field as the only swimmer to break the 50-second barrier, and was only about a second-and-a-half off his personal best of 46.16 from the 2018 SEC Championships. Luht did not swim the 200 back, which was won by teammate Thomas Smith in 1:46.56, and opted for the 100 freestyle instead where he placed 5th in 46.84, less than a second faster than his 100 backstroke time. To close the meet, Luht posted a 21.09 lead-off leg to LSU’s 200 freestyle relay, which placed 2nd.
Peter Wetzlar doubled up for the Kentucky men, winning the 50 freestyle in 20.23 and the 100 free in 44.80, barely edging teammate Jason Head in the 100, who touched 2nd in 44.97. Wetzlar also led off the champion Kentucky ‘A’ 200 freestyle relay in 20.05, faster than his time in the individual event and only about 3/10 off his personal best of 19.79 from the 2018 SEC Championships, as well as contributed a 44.28 100 freestyle split in the 400 medley relay, where Kentucky’s ‘A’ team placed 2nd. Head, who took second in the 100 and third in the 50 (20.90), also won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:38.93, just getting ahead of teammates Glen Brown (1:39.10) and John Mitchell (1:39.55).
Freshman Mason Wilby brought in valuable points for Kentucky with his victory in the 200 fly (1:48.04), splitting the race impressively 25.17/27.93/27.45/27.49. Wilby also placed 3rd in the 500 in 4:34.38 and contributed to Kentucky’s ‘B’ 400 medley relay, which placed 3rd, where he split a 49.08 in the 100 fly, a markedly better time than his open 100 fly, where he posted a 50.45 for a 5th-place finish.
Kentucky head coach Lars Jorgensen took a moment to recap the meet and assess the Wildcat’s future meetup with Missouri. That video is posted below.
Coach @UKLarsJorgensen’s one-minute wrap up.
Take a look. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/XVyGWBvJlH
— Kentucky Swim & Dive (@UKSwimDive) October 23, 2018